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“Funny, insightful, and profoundly transformational. You can’t say that about any other book about the craft of becoming a better writer and a more brilliant marketer.”
Andrew Davis, author and keynote speaker
“Writing is a skill, not a talent. That’s great news, because it means it can be learned. And who better to teach you the craft of commercial and professional writing than Ann Handley. This book will go a long way to helping you share your ideas and make an impact.”
—Seth Godin, author, This Is Marketing
“I never thought Everybody Writes 2 could top the original, but it does. With apologies to Top Gun: Maverick, this is the best sequel. Absolutely indispensable! Buy a copy for all people who use words for any reason.”
—Jay Baer, author, Hug Your Haters
“There is no better way to become an exceptional writer than to spend a few hours inside of Ann Handley’s head. Everybody Writes v.2 (it’s 43.5% funnier) allows you to do just that and more. I LOVED every minute of it. It’s a must for anybody. . . because everybody writes!”
—Ahava Leibtag, President, Aha Media Group
“This clear-sighted framework will teach you to be a better writer. It makes this daunting topic so approachable, that I got excited just to write this blurb. No joke.”
—Andy Crestodina, Cofounder and CMO, Orbit Media Studios
“Here it is—the modern writer’s handbook, finely tuned to meet the needs of today’s extremely weird world. This book is the coach, cheerleader, and no-nonsense friend every writer should have by their side.”
—Beth Dunn, Marketing Fellow at HubSpot and author, Cultivating Content Design
“This book shouldn’t just be on every marketer’s shelf. . . it should be right on their desks within easy reach!”
—Kevin Hamilton, CMO, Toast
“Two books are required reading for anyone who decides to take up the mantle of writing: On Writing by Stephen King and Everybody Writes by Ann Handley.”
—Joe Pulizzi, author, Content Inc., and Founder, Content Marketing Institute and The Tilt
“Everybody Writes will make you a better thinker, communicator, and— yes—writer. Ann Handley shares timeless exercises and current examples that will have you writing stronger and more engaging content for your business, your clients, or yourself. (Plus, she brings the fun and joy to the process!)”
—Katie Yeakle, CEO, American Writers & Artists Inc.
“Everybody Writes is packed with invaluable expert guidance on all things writing. It belongs on, well, everybody’s shelf.”
—Kristina Halvorson, President, Brain Traffic
“I just glanced at the Table of Contents and I’m already a better writer. Ann Handley might just single-handedly save the world from content mediocrity.”
—Jason Miller, head of Brand and Content, Tyk Technologies
“Like a comet, Ann returns with an inspirational light for writers everywhere.”
—Mark Schaefer, author, Marketing Rebellion
“With wisdom and an infective wittiness, Ann shows you how to take your writing from awkward and awful to electric and elegant.”
—David Meerman Scott, author, The New Rules of Marketing & PR
“The alternate click-bait title of Ann’s great new book could have been 73 Ways to Improve Your Writing and Conquer the World! . . . and it would have been an understatement.”
—Brian Clark, Founder, Copyblogger Media
“Ann’s witty take on what works and what doesn’t will help you master business writing and—more importantly—have fun while you’re doing it!”
—Ardath Albee, B2B Marketing Strategist and author, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale
“As usual, Handley does what she does best: She overdelivers. If you create content, buy this. If you run a team that creates content, buy everyone a copy. This is one of those books that will always sit within arm’s reach of anyone who must come up with ideas.”
—Mitch Joel, author, Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete
“This book gives you a deeper understanding of this new era of storytelling and content and equips you to make more contributions as a creative.”
—Tim Washer, B2B Marketing Leader and speaker
“Ann shatters the myth that writing is only for trained journalists and provides amazingly insightful tips on how everyone can tell great stories.”
—Michael Brenner, author, Mean People Suck
“Everyone who creates content for the web—text, audio, or video—should read this book.”
—Sonia Simone, Founder, Creative Fierce
“A fun, fast read that makes you want to run to your keyboard and tap out a masterpiece. But it’s not just for writers; it’s for anyone who commissions, edits, or works with writers.”
Doug Kessler, Cofounder and Creative Director, Velocity UK
“Everybody Writes is your guide to creating content you can be proud of and that customers will love you for. It’s a must-have guide for anyone.”
—Lee
Odden, CEO, TopRank Marketing and author, Optimize
“Filled with valuable information, techniques, examples, and smiles—this book is for anyone who wants their words to have more success.”
—C.C.
Chapman, Professor of the Practice of Business and Management, Wheaton College
“Ann has done the impossible by somehow making the second edition of Everybody Writes even more insightful, even more inspiring, and even more of a joy to read than it was to begin with.”
Melanie Deziel, author, Content Fuel Framework and Prove It
“People forget that being a great writer is a skill AND a posture. It’s how you write AND how you see things. What Ann offers (in the most entertaining and empowering way possible) is the chance to develop both.”
Jay Acunzo, author, Break the Wheel
“Ann writes with equal parts humor and heart. You’ll laugh as you learn.”
Nick Westergaard, author, Brand Now and Get Scrappy, and Lecturer, University of Iowa
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Names: Handley, Ann, 1963- author.
Title: Everybody writes: your new and improved go-to guide to creating ridiculously good content / Ann Handley.
Description: Second edition. | Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, [2023] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022029676 (print) | LCCN 2022029677 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119854166 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119854326 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119854319 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Internet marketing. | Business communication. | Marketing.
Ah. So I see you, too, are one of those people who reads acknowledgments. Welcome, friend. You and I have a lot in common.
If writing can feel like birthing a Honda Civic, then writing a book is like birthing a car dealership full of them.
It’s not pretty. You sweat a lot. Most of the work is done while crying.
But you are not alone.
My name might be on this book, but the following people helped.
Most special thanks to . . .
Kristina Halvorson, who gave me the title of this book and in exchange asks merely for all my love, money, cryptocurrency, a lock of my hair, and perpetual acknowledgment of her genius. Here you go, Kristina. You are Writing Royalty.
Andrew Davis, for the steady beam of sanity-checking support, friendship, advice . . . and for acting as mediator when a few of these chapters and I got in a fight. Also thanks for answering random weekend texts toward the end of this book when ugh I just couldn’t anymore.
Ahava Leibtag, for the unwavering support and honest, generous, gracious feedback. Any sentence that begins with Ahava’s signature line Can I tell you something . . . ? always delivers exactly what you need to hear. And by “you” I mean “I.”
Jess Tyson, for lovingly organizing and managing All The Things. Without you, Jess, the manuscript for this book would be in piles around the Tiny House Studio or maybe littering the floor of my car, not neatly captured and bound right here.
Acknowledgments
Number-one son Evan W. H. Price, for the cover and interior illustrations, and also for suggesting that a seaside breeze coming through the slider might make for the best setting to finish this second edition. (It was perfection.)
Number-one daughter Caroline R. H. Price, for being the best hype person ever (You’ve got this!) as well as my Gen Z consultant ready to answer questions like “Do you know who Rocky Balboa is?” “How about Seabiscuit?” “What about a Rolodex?” (These references make sense when you read the book.)
P.S. Also, I’m not saying that your reading the first edition of this book when you were still a kid didn’t launch your own career in Marketing, Caroline . . . but I’m not not saying that, either.
Also grateful to . . .
Doug Kessler, for being an early reader of The Ugly First Draft—yet still saying non-ugly things about it. Also for subtly prodding me to be a better writer because everything he writes is so ridiculously good and it ragemotivates me.
Kerry O’Shea Gorgone, for legal expertise, research help, hijinks. And for delivering more than I expect (always).
Katie Martell, for writing about important things and with wisdom and yet always a sense of humor. Sure, she calls us all to be better people . . . but I appreciate her telling me to loosen up with this book and have a little more fun already!
Andy Crestodina, Joe Pulizzi, Ruth Carter, Jay Acunzo, Corey O’Loughlin, Paul Roetzer, Jason Miller, Liz Murphy, Mitch Joel, Robert Rose, Justin Levy, Dane Sanders, Alex Rynne, and Tim Washer for answering my messages and emails even though I always need everything, like, yesterday.
To my MarketingProfs family. I used to feel weird referring to people I work with as family. But I’ve known some of you for almost half my adult life—so, I guess we’re stuck with each other the way family is.
Team Wiley. Sorry for missing that deadline. And that other one. And really sorry this is late, too.
Acknowledgments
To TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, for making the writing of this book at least twice as long as it might have been otherwise.
To LinkedIn for the swig of good vibes when I was eight hours from this book’s deadline!
And thanks to the following for sharing their feedback and encouragement generously and without expectation:
David Meerman Scott, Jay Baer, Lee Odden, Mark Schaefer, Carla Johnson, Michelle Martello, Joe Chernov, Jesse Noyes, Heidi Cohen, Melanie Deziel, Jonathon Colman, Allison Tyler Jones, John Simmons, Richard Pelletier, Ardath Albee, Sonia Simone, Michael Brenner, Ashley Zeckman, Nick Westergaard, Nancy Harhut, Erika Heald, Erin King, Paul Gillin, Jill Foster, C. C. Chapman, and Keith Jennings.
Finally, thank you to Vahe Habeshian, the world’s best editor, among other things. I’m sorry for arguing over your suggested edits quite so much. You were mostly right. ☺
Wait. One more . . .
Thank you to E. B. White—the author of my favorite book of all time, Charlotte’s Web, as well as Stuart Little and the writing guide The Elements of Style
The Elements of Style was a talisman to me when I was a college student learning to be a better writer. I studied it. Memorized its rules. Clung to it like a baby orangutan clings to its mother’s back, thinking it’s the only way to ever get anywhere. (I still reread the book every year or so.)
E.B. White’s quote in the Epilogue of Everybody Writes reminds me that anyone who waits for the perfect conditions to write won’t ever create much of anything. I think of that advice almost every day—there’s a practical forgiveness in it.
Thanking a great writer I never met is maybe pretentious. I don’t know.
But the gratitude is real.
Start Here
LastTuesday, for the first time in my life, I did a push-up. That wouldn’t be remarkable for most of you, probably. It might seem even pathetic.
But for me it was an occasion to celebrate. It capped five (!) months of hard work that followed a lifetime of thinking of myself as spectacularly incapable
I hail from a stunningly unathletic family: most of us are more Eeyore than Seabiscuit. We are the ones picked last for the team, the ones who are afraid of the ball. And I was (literally) a 100-pound weakling. So the idea of my being capable of a push-up (or 5, or 10, or—maybe, eventually—50 or more!) seemed as improbable as my writing this in Russian
* * *
I wrote that ^^ in the Introduction of the first edition of this book, eight years ago.
Still today, when I meet fans of this book in person, the number one question they ask me isn’t What’s your best writing secret? Or Will you read my work? Or Oh I thought you were Tina Fey.
(That last one isn’t a question; it was a comment I once got in a hotel lobby from a woman who bolted toward me from across the room, mistaking me for Tina. (Was it the glasses? The hair? Her bad eyesight? IDK.) She said it in a voice flat with disappointment and also . . . is that an accusation? Like I’d scammed her out of a million dollars?)
Anyway . . . the number one question isn’t any of those. It’s this:
2 Start Here
How many push-ups can you do now?
It’s a funny question. But it makes sense.
We all want to know . . . Did the effort deliver results? Did my single epic push-up become more . . . ? Did it actually become 5? Or 10? Or 50?
Is it true that learning to write better really just means working the right muscles? Does it actually pay off?
We want that assurance. We need answers.
Is it really as simple as showing up and strengthening your muscles?
Right now you might not consider yourself much of a writer, just as I never considered myself someone who could drop and pump out even a single push-up.
Many of us have the idea that the ability to write well is a gift bestowed on a chosen few. Writing well is considered an art, linked murkily to muse and mysticism and magic.
So we think there are two kinds of people: the writing haves—and the writing hapless, for whom writing well is a hopeless struggle. Like trying to carve a marble bust with a butter knife.
But I don’t believe that. Neither should you.
The truth is this: Writing well is part habit, part knowledge of some fundamental rules, and part giving a damn.
We are all capable of producing good writing. We all have that magic within us.
“Writing is less about beckoning the muse than hanging in until the typing becomes writing,” as the late, great journalist David Carr said.
So the two kinds of people are not the haves and the hapless. Instead, they are those who think they can write, and those who think they can’t. (And often, both are wrong.)
In truth, most of us fall somewhere in the middle.
We’re more capable than we think we are.
Choose Your Own Adventure
It’s tricky writing this Introduction to you. There maybe be two kinds of writers . . . but there are many kinds of readers.
You might be picking this up for the first time. (Hi, new friend.)
Or you’ve read the first edition of this book and you’re wondering what’s new in this one. (Good to see you again.)
Or maybe you’ve cracked open these pages looking for answers to one or more of a few questions . . .
How is everybody actually a writer? Am I?
Does good writing matter anymore . . . ?
How is content marketing changing?
Has writing evolved since the first edition?
Does everybody really write in an age of TikFace and Web3 and robots spewing a spitcoin of social posts in less time than it took you to read this sentence . . . ?
Is the effort worth it . . . ? Is it as simple as showing up and working the muscles?
To speak to all that . . . I’ve organized this Introduction as a modified Choose Your Own Adventure format. As with the adventure book series, you decide what’s interesting to you.
Answers to those questions and more are here. Wander through this section. Choose what you need; stop and read. Skip what you don’t. You’re in control here.
We’ll all reconvene at the start of Part I.
Ready?
4 Start Here
Yes, You Are a Writer
If you have a website, you are a publisher. If you are on social media, you are in marketing. And that means we are all writers.
Yeah, but who cares about writing anymore? In a digital world dominated by short and snappy, by quick and hit—by TikTok and Twitter and gifs and livestreaming and BRT and emojis and Web3 and robots that write . . . does the idea of our focusing on writing seem ordinary? And a little useless?
Heck no—it’s neither ordinary nor useless.
Writing matters more now, not less.
There are a few reasons.
We are all creators. The first edition of this book talked about how we have become a planet of publishers—a world where marketing content is a wellspring, generating real business growth.
In the years since the first edition, we’ve jumped into the deep end of the content pool.
We’ve set up swim lanes in the form of structures and processes to consistently create content.
We’ve linked those efforts with strategic goals.
We’ve upped content budgets. We’re using lots of tactics and channels. We’re all-in on social media platforms. Look! We’re even wearing metaverse arm floaties!
That’s a lot of splashing around.
Yet many of us still struggle to stay afloat. We struggle to create the kind of content that connects with the people who matter to us.
Technology has given us access and power and water wings—yet we aren’t taking full advantage of them.
We are a planet of publishers, yet many of us are polluting the pool with content rubbish. We are all creators, yet many of us are squandering the opportunity we have to communicate directly with those we care most about reaching.
Harsh, I know. But no hate. I’m here for you.
The challenge has shifted: Google and other search engines have made it clear that they’ll love up the good stuff more than any polluted, brackish backwater.
We’ve embraced the idea that we are creators; the challenge that remains is the joy and craft of the creating—the writing. The publishing. The storytelling.
Your genuine, engaging voice matters. Robots might write drafts. Your competitor might generate as much content as you do (more, maybe?).
But! No one can copy your voice. No one can show up quite as you can. No robot will ever write as you do—not really, because none feel or think as you do.
(The best a robot might ever do is pantomime. Will they pantomime well? Maybe. Probably. But it’s still just a pantomime.)
Your true voice is the best way for your audience to like and trust you. Your voice sets you apart from everyone else—from me, from the robot, and from your frenzied competitor treating content like an arms race.
Our online words are our emissaries; they tell the world who we are, as author Beth Dunn puts it.1
I love that “emissaries” bit. I picture our words taking their role as diplomats for us very seriously—dressed up for a special mission, carrying important messages in their tiny attaché cases.
Our writing can make us look smart. Or it can make us look stupid.
Our writing can make us seem fun or warm or competent or trustworthy or likeable. Like someone who lightens the room just by showing up . . . hey, look who’s here!
But it can also make us seem humdrum. Discombobulated. Flat-out boring. Or ugh not them again
That means we need to choose words well. We need to write with style and honest empathy for readers.
6 Start Here
Clarity counts. Clear writing matters in marketing. But it also is critical for us as professionals.
Yes you—sitting there in your home office, chatting on Slack, updating your colleagues or partners through internal blogs or messaging platforms or old-fashioned email.
Work today often gets done asynchronously—from various locations and with flexible work schedules. We communicate by (you guessed it) writing. (More about this in Part I.)
That’s why we need to write clearly and succinctly: to communicate our ideas and thoughts in a way that doesn’t meander maddeningly to and fro. To respect our readers. To write in a way that makes people want to read.
Being able to communicate well in writing isn’t just nice; it’s a necessity
Craft counts, too. In an era of content superabundance, how we use our words matters. How we craft our communications, tell our stories, create or co-create customer experiences.
We need to place a high value on an overlooked skill in marketing: how to write (with style, flair, true emotion). And how to tell a true story well.
The very best marketing touches our hearts. It makes us pause, think, laugh.
Great writing makes us feel . . . I just struggled to find an adjective to complete this sentence. Then I realized, it’s simple:
Great writing makes us feel. Period.
How Is Content Changing?
Remember the scene in The Lion King when King Mufasa and his son Simba survey their kingdom at Pride Rock?
Together they gaze out at the sweeping landscape—every baobab tree, every ant and zebra, every river and watering hole and setting sun and shadow—and Mufasa turns to his son:
“Look Simba,” he says quietly. “Everything the light touches . . . is content.”
There’s a pause. A moment ripe with drama, as the cub absorbs his father’s words.
Finally, Simba responds: “Wowwww,” he says, his baby voice brimming with awe.
I’m kidding.
Mufasa doesn’t mention content in the original script. He says, “Everything the light touches . . . is our kingdom.”
But if Mufasa were a marketer . . .? He’d 100% ad-lib that line.
And he’d 100% recognize that his content kingdom is expanding by acres of baobab trees every day. * * *
Content isn’t limited to the text on our web pages or product pages or blogs or email newsletters. It’s as broad as the landscape from Pride Rock. It goes beyond the boundaries of what we think of as “marketing.”
Content is everything your customer or prospect touches or interacts with—including your own digital properties and website and the experiences they offer. But also everything on any social media platform or anything we might co-create in decentralized Web3 world. (An opportunity that will only expand as we mine Web3 to find more utility.)
Everything the light touches is content.
Your “content” is any medium through which you communicate with the people who might use your products or services.
The kingdom might be expanding. But some things don’t change.
No matter what form it takes, no matter where it’s created or shared, our content should follow the Formula of Three:
High-quality content is packed with clear utility, inspiration, and empathy for the audience:
◆ Utility means you clearly help people do something that matters to them—you help them shoulder their burdens, you ease their pain, you help them make a decision.
8 Start Here
◆ Inspiration means our work is inspired by data (more on this later) or it’s creatively inspired (or both). It’s fresh, different, wellwritten, well-produced, nicely designed—and it feels like it could come only from you.
◆ Empathy means you relentlessly focus on your customer. You view the entire world through their eyes—because everything the light touches . . . !
The multiplication signs are important, because if the value of any one of these things (Utility, Inspiration, or Empathy) is zero, then the sum of your content is a big fat zero, too.
One more point, before we move on to the next Adventure:
“Quality” in the context of business doesn’t mean writing with all the beauty or humor or gravitas of Toni Morrison or Tina Fey or any other writer whose work you happen to admire.
Instead, “quality” means we get to the essence of what makes those writers (or any writer) great—whether we wrote Sula or Mean Girls or an email newsletter or FAQ pages.
It’s craft, yes. And maybe it is beautiful. But more than that, it has relentless empathy for a reader. It gets to a truth, no matter what kind of “truth” we tell.
One of the best bits of content I ever encountered was a neatly designed guide to dishwasher repair I downloaded from an appliance website. It delivered exactly what I needed—with clear utility, inspiration, and empathy for the true pain of having shards of a drinking glass caught in the drain hose.
How Has Writing Changed?
I’m glad you landed here.
Don’t tell the other adventurers who might’ve skimmed past this Adventure to hurry on to the next . . . but this is my favorite part. To me,
